Tiki Masks
by CaptainFrosty
Summary: Landing in a strange, dark realm led by the Ancients, Emma must undergo her Taking In. In this abstract world, anything can happen - Especially when her Guide has taken a special interest in her.
1. Caverns

**TIKI MASKS**

 **Hey there! So, er, yeah. New story! This one is a bit weird, and I got it when listening to Of The Night by Bastille, which was a bit weird. this first chapter is pretty normal, and VERY short, because my muse was really wasted and this was sort of an essential chapter that I didn't really want to write. I promise they'll be longer - But if you know my writing, I don't write long stuff. Just isn't my jam. I'm warning you - This story is REALLY weird, and may be a bit difficult to follow, because it's quite abstract. Good luck! This'll be about 7-8 chapters long! Please follow, and favourite if you wanna!**

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" So, has anyone actually _been_ down this far? I mean, is it _safe_? " Emma murmured to the figure in front of her, the light of her torch shining on his back and little else around her, her mind not focused on the light. The only indication there might be a bumps or a drop was his footsteps, and the way his body moved, which she tried to mimic as well as she could while attempting to admire the beauty that was around her. You know, rock. Very pretty stuff.

And trying not to let her claustrophobia be seen. She'd never hear the end of it, if she did. _Humility defeats weaknesses,_ he'd say, taunting her until she finally gave in and said she had no fear. Anyway, this was a vacation for _him_. God knew Neal loved any form of gems, precious stones, jewels. He was constantly chattering about this diamond or that emerald – which one, she couldn't remember - that was found in the middle-east, or they were going down to the nearby crystal gem shop to peer at the little stones, one with fascination and another with boredom. Why he loved them was completely beyond her, but it may be the same for her irrational obsession over Peter Pan and that Captain Hook.

" I know they've gone to a few kilometres back, but nobody's gone down this far. Well, nobody that survived, at least. " He turned to flash her a bright, white-toothed smile, shining in the light of her torch, and she shook her head at his antics, pushing back the rising panic. They were so deep underground, and so far from civilisation… They could easily get lost, and with nobody to contact… It was frightening for someone that originally didn't want to step an inch into the cavern.

" Emma. " He mumbled, making her stop short from crashing right into his back, not realising he'd froze. To their right was a steep fall into deep, impenetrable darkness, but she'd always been okay with heights, making sure to keep balanced. She much preferred the openness – Like the _ocean_ , for example – of the world, rather than being closed up in tiny spaces, with barely any breathable air and a stench of something dying clogging her nostrils.

Looking up with a wrinkle of her nose, a flash caught her eye, and she peered at something on the rocky cave wall. Several small items, set inside the stone… A colourful array of… " Precious gems. " Neal murmured, completely awestruck, mouth fallen open as he reached forward to press his hand to one of the glimmering items. He'd always ask to touch the gems whenever they were in the shops, and this seemed to be no exception. Neal, she supposed. " They're beautiful. " Emma had whispered.

Seemingly realising she was present again, he turned to give her a look. She frowned – There was a certain snarl to his expression, despite a pleasant smile curving his thin lips. " I'm sorry. " He murmured, and her brow furrowed. " Wha- " She was asking, before a hand reached forward to shove her backwards. Her foot moved to balance herself, but the boot caught on a small stone and hooked the front around her other ankle, only serving to propel her body backwards.

Trying to grasp thin air, she fell. And fell. And fell. Into eternal darkness.


	2. Darkness

She's falling. Falling, falling, falling. It never ends – She's long since stopped screaming, her throat raw from the screech that had ripped itself from her throat. Now, her world is naught but tumbling through the pitch-black darkness. It is an all-smothering land of shadows, forcing away any thoughts that might matter, banishing her breath, winding her to the extreme. The world may as well have been ending then.

She half expected clocks from Alice in Wonderland to start falling around her. The situation was perfect for something like time to start reversing, or alarms to randomly start screeching, or a giant caterpillar smoking tobacco to just appear – It seemed as if something from a fictional story, and she were the protagonist, about to march on to a great journey. Or an adventure, maybe. Either way, some sort of trip down weirdo lane.

Then, out of nowhere – Solid ground.

Well, sort of. She'd _landed_ , per say, however her landing defied the laws of physics. Then again, nothing was destined to be normal in a place that had a freaking seemingly endless pit in a chasm that could have only been twenty or so meters deep into the earth. Her platform could have been invisible, or black, or any other colour for all she knew. There really wasn't any light to be able to register sight – She may as well have been blind.

As she'd landed, it were as if she wasn't spinning through the air with the inevitable future of smashing into any object with the force of a bullet, instead drifting down onto whatever it was as soft as a feather. With a lack of bouncing, or even some form of evident impact, her world was met with what may have been solid ground. Well, if solid ground flexed under her weight only if she _willed_ it to.

Wow, this place was whacked up.

Still, her sight still remained unusable. Or, so it seemed, for it took a few minutes of staring at her hand to realise she was _staring at her hand_. Like, the fingers, and that little freckle that sat on her palm underneath her pinkie which she _swore_ wasn't there a day ago. Hit by the realisation that she could see freaking hand, she looked around for the obvious source of light, only to be met by a figure standing amidst the darkness.

It almost seems as if the figure is glowing all by themself, despite no physical light actually reflecting or being protruded by them. Which defied the laws of- You know what? It was common knowledge this wasn't the reality she'd quite _happily_ been nestled into. The world was seemingly darkening from its current pitch-black state, and leaving the man to cling onto the faint light in which she was becoming accustomed to. Despite the helping hand given to her, she still struggled to pick out the details of whomever it was. A whole minute passed, before she was jarred into realisation of their appearance.

The figure was sitting on a throne, for a start. Carved from an elegant wood, all curved edges and intricate twists, it seemed to hold a darkness of its own in a beautiful, enchanting way. He was up in a self-confident position, as if a king in his own kingdom – He may as well have been, for all she knew -, his fingers unnaturally still on the long armrests of the seat. Her gaze drags back up to his face, which was covered with what seemed to be a plank of wood, carved into what seemed to be a tiki mask.

Into the wood lay flawless intricate patterns, carved gently into the ancient wood, marked around the cheeks and eyeholes, where two dark beady eyes stared out at her. But the most interesting of all were the glittering diamonds littered around the mask – One large, spectacular one on his forehead, a few around his eyes, and some along the high cheekbones of the façade. Jewellery, like rings and a necklace, were all adorned with the same precious jewel.

As Emma finished her examination of the stranger, it became evident that that there were four other figures apart from the main one. As they came into focus, lightened by the ever-increasing darkness around her, it was easily seen that the two next to the main figure wore deep emeralds in their masks and jewellery, while the ones beside them wore rubies. It was seemingly some form of ranking system, as their thrones and clothing showed the same form of decreasing preciousness. The ruby-decorated tiki-covered figure's thrones were much less worked, with a few evident flaws in the wood and a much simpler design, however still shockingly beautiful and worth thousands.

Emma's attention was caught by the middle figure, who had taken a breath, her gaze snatching towards his fake features. " Life and Death is merely a revolving system – You die, you live. You die, you live. It is a never-ending cycle, so elegant in its simplicity, until one becomes a Holy Soul, one whom has perfected the art of life, or are Taken In. " An air of solemnity falls at the words 'Taken In', a small twinge of curiosity – which was strange considering her rather abstract and vaguely frightening situation. " Votes have been cast throughout the Ancient Council, and we are regretful to inform you that you have been chosen as The Saved One. You shall now undergo the Taking In. " After a moments pause, they all whispered, in unison. " We beg for your forgiveness. " She had barely time to frown before they disappeared with the sound of a light switch, and off she tumbling once more, into the endless darkness.


End file.
